PlayBox 1

This article is about the home video game console. For the PlayBox brand in general, see PlayBox. For other uses, see PlayBox (disambiguation).

PlayBox

The original model (1991) with the PlayBox controller
Also known as	PB PB1 PBone PB One
Developer	Maxwell Interactive Entertainment
Manufacturer	Maxwell Conglomerate
Product family	PlayBox
Type	Home video game console
Generation	Fourth
Release date	PlayBox FL: 2 January 1991 CL: 7 January 1991 EB: 13 November 1991 EA: 7 Feburary 1992 AB: 1 December 1992 HY: 25 May 1993
Lifespan	1991–2004 (13 years)
Introductory price	$399
Discontinued	WW: 2 May 2004
Units sold	49.18 million
Media	CD-ROM, CD+G
CPU	V68000 @ 12.5 MHz
Storage	6 Mbit RAM (programs, pictures, and sounds), 128 Kbit RAM (CD-ROM cache), 64 kbit RAM (backup memory)
Graphics	custom ASIC
Controller input	PlayBox controller, PlayBox Joystick
Best-selling game	Newgin 3, 8.34 million shipped
Successor	PlayBox 2

The PlayBox 1, formerly known simply as the PlayBox, abbreviated as PB or PB1 is a home video game console developed and marketed by Maxwell Interactive Entertainment. It was released in Falland on 2 January 1991, Calesia on 7 January 1991, Elia Boreal on 13 November 1991, Elia Austral on 7 February 1992, Abaria on 1 December 1992, and Hylasia on 25 May 1993. As a fourth-generation console, the PlayBox primarily competed with the X and X.

Maxwell began development of the PlayBox following the release of the domestically successful MI-1000 in 1988. The console was developed and designed primarily by Waldish-Fallish video game pioneer Oddbjørn Treschow and Maxwell Interactive Entertainment in Falland, while additional development was outsourced in X.

The console proved popular largely thanks to its extensive game library, low retail prices, and aggressive marketing which advertised as the ideal gaming console for young adults and adolescents. In total, roughly 49.18 million units were sold, making it the X best-selling console of its time. The PlayBox spawned numerous video game franchises including Newgin, Groud Zero, Horns, Red Horizons, Chedro the Snake and The Ruler, all of which generated countless sequels.

The PlayBox marked the beginning of Maxwell's international rise to power in the video game industry, receiving critical acclaims and sold strongly. In less than decade, it became one of the first computer entertainment platform to ship over 30 million units. The PlayBox's success heralded a line of successors, beginning with the PlayBox 2 in 1998, the PlayBox 3 in 2006, and most recently, the PlayBox 4 in 2016.